Tuesday, June 9, 2015

A Summer Vacation with hope

A Summer Vacation with hope

“The train arrives at 3.PM. Why you are so early?” the station master asked the old man."What I’m going to do sitting idle at my home” The old man was excited and desperate about meeting his grandchildren after five years. The villagers had only one train passing by and the people had to travel 15 KMS for the railway station.

The old man walked all along 15 KM and sat on the bench for so long. It was 1 P.M as he felt a pain of hunger and started feeling a little groggy. It was a small station, hence there were no shelter to hide nor food stalls to eat. He needs to walk 500 mts to find a small tea shop. He took out his jute bag and counted the money. He had six rupees, which is enough for a Tea. He walked to the nearest tea shop and ordered a tea for himself. The hot summer made him sweat a lot and since he was standing in the hot from morning, he felt head ache and dizzy. Suddenly a rose candy caught his eyes. He enquired the candy prize and walked back to the railway station cancelling his tea order. He felt happy for preserving the money for candy. The smile on the kids face, when he offer them those candy vanished his pain of hunger. The old man’s wife passed away 10 years before and he was living all alone from that time.

Five years before, his son visited his home with his grandchildren’s during summer holiday. The old man had an excellent time with the kids. He almost turned into a kid when he played Lattu, hide-n-seek, Kancha, Gutte, Gilli and many more game. He slept with his grandchildren in the courtyard under a sky full of stars, followed by narrating moral stories. The kids had a good time too. When the summer holidays got over, his grandchildren promised the old man that they would be visiting again in the next summer holidays. His son insisted in getting a land transferred to his name by saying some financial reasons. The old man whole heartily signed the form.

The train arrived and the old man rushed to check in inside all the compartments for his grandchildren and son. The train stops at the station only for 2 minutes, hence he checked in hurry burry. The train whizzed and snail paced.

The old man returned home with disappointment.

Next day, he woke up with cheer and headed towards the railway station with hope and came back in the evening with disappointment. This continued for entire April and may month.

One day he returned home with eyes full of tears. The summer vacations got over and the schools are reopening tomorrow. The old man wished for a A Never Ending Summer!

He entered his small hut, locked his door and searched for a letter that he received before few months. He opened the letter with trembling hands.

“Dad, did not get leave. Will visit home next summer.”

He took scissor and tore the statement, “Will visit home next summer” and pasted it in the wall. The wall had five similar cuttings with the same word.

He laid down on the bed, slept peacefully hoping to meet his grandchildren in the next summer. Had he opened the letter as soon as he received it, the old man would have been disappointed. Though his brain knew the truth, his heart hoped for his grandchildren visit. After-all, he is 70+ and now his brain and heart are inseparable like a new-born child.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day | 15th June

As per a research study conducted by Helpage India, 50% of the elderly face exploitation in various forms. Verbal Abuse (41%), Disrespect (33%) and Neglect (29%) are ranked the most common types of offenses against them. The number of these cases are going up at an alarming rate.

Let's use the power of blogging to give a life of respect and love to the old, and voice our opinion against the sufferings of the elderly.

Let's take a pledge not to hurt elders... They are innocent children..

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Touch of Mist Novel

Reena was all set to swallow the entire bottle of tranquilizers not to just drown her sorrows, but to END her life. She took out her high-end cell phone and scrolled down through her contacts in search of any possible guidance. As it was already 2:00 a.m. she was hesitant to seek out help at this late hour. She stood near the window and gaped at the electrified snaky road which seemed to beckon her towards heaven – the ultimate peace. But, on second thought, it seemed as hollow and dark like her life. She dragged herself inside her master bed-room, slid open the wardrobe door and took out a wooden framed photograph, which was taken about 20 years ago. It was a memorable sight of her family, where her dad was giving her a piggyback ride. She caressed the photo lightly and breathed a morose sigh. Crystal tears rolled down her eyes and fell onto the photo frame. She wiped off the droplet that had blurred out her dad’s picture and started wondering, who would wipe her dad’s tears away after her death. Still, her thoughts selfishly and stubbornly remained in favor of her decision to commit suicide.

About Me

Deepika Muthusamy is an enthusiastic, budding fiction writer who is an ‘outdoorsy’ person by nature. Her debut novel ‘Touch of Mist’, which is a fictional love-story, was published in October 2013. She is a Software Techie by profession and she began her career with the IBM. She is also the co-founder of Bangalore Hikers and loves to travel. She has been participating in the TCS 10K Bangalore run, Coimbatore Marathon and Pinkathon 10K run since 2012.